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Wednesday, 5 May 2010

Police signs have begun springing up in internet cafes in London warning users that they could be reported to the police and face criminal charges if they access “extremist”, “offensive” or “inappropriate” material.

The signs, which state that the owners of the premises are actively working with the Metropolitan police, have drawn criticism due to their vagueness and questionable legality.

“Downloading or accessing certain material could constitute a criminal offence” states the bright pink sign. more...

With only so much oil to go around, every new off-take agreement signed by the Chinese with the Saudis or Venezuelans, for example, is a net loss in supply to other bidders, notably the world’s largest energy consumer, the United States.

That the Chinese, and other countries, are aggressively securing long-term energy arrangements, coincidental with what appears to be an official U.S. diplomatic initiative to actively offend all the major energy producers, makes the securing of U.S.-controlled reserves and production critical. more...

Academic medical centers are charged with educating the next generation of doctors, conducting scientifically important research, and taking care of the sickest and neediest patients. That’s what justifies their tax-exempt status. In contrast, drug companies—like other investor-owned businesses—are charged with increasing the value of their shareholders’ stock. That is their fiduciary responsibility, and they would be remiss if they didn’t uphold it. All their other activities are means to that end. The companies are supposed to develop profitable drugs, not necessarily important or innovative ones, and paradoxically enough, the most profitable drugs are the least innovative. Nor do drug companies aim to educate doctors, except as a means to the primary end of selling drugs. Drug companies don’t have education budgets; they have marketing budgets from which their ostensibly educational activities are funded.

This profound difference in missions is often deliberately obscured—by drug companies because it’s good public relations to portray themselves as research and educational institutions, and by academics because it means they don’t have to face up to what’s really going on. more...

Consider the range of anger right now. Completely different philosophies, completely different views of the world, but the Times Square bomber, the Tea Party movement, the Ron Paul movement and the protesters in Greece have one thing in common, a rejection of control by the global plotters. more...

After years of secrecy, the eighth round of talks aimed at drafting an international treaty called the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) recently concluded in New Zealand - and in the face of public pressure, a version of the text was subsequently made available to the public. The ACTA is neither a trade agreement nor one focused primarily on counterfeiting, but a copyright deal featuring provisions on Internet service provider and Internet company liability, DMCA-style notice and takedown requirements, legal protection for digital locks, and requirements for statutory damages that could result in millions in liability for non-commercial infringement - even heightened searches at border crossings. more...

“This is not our debt, but we are being made to pay for it,” said one angry Greek worker, explaining why he like thousands of other Greeks are taking to the streets in protest at their country’s bail-out plan.

The so-called rescue package of €110 billion ($143 billion) facilitated by the European Union and International Monetary Fund (IMF) is not just aimed at shoring up Greece from total economic collapse. At stake too is the solvency of several other Eurozone countries – Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain – and even the euro currency itself. more...

Governments around the world have proposed biofuels, liquid fuels derived from plants, fungi or algae, as a solution to today’s energy and environmental crises. But this alternative is as bad as, or worse, than fossil fuels.

Reasons to reject biofuels include:-Loss of farmland for fuel land, increasing food prices and world hunger;-Deforestation and conversion of prairie to cropland, causing a net increase in greenhouse gases;-Increased reliance on eco-destructive pesticides; and-Proliferation of dangerous genetically modified crops. more...

There is a new technological trend in the United States that promises to use advances in Internet, GPS, and chemical detection technology to manage states’ surging prison and parolee populations. Several states, particularly those with massive budget deficits like California and Michigan, are unable to shoulder the burden of housing more inmates in their dangerously overcrowded prisons. They are therefore dramatically increasing the use of GPS technology to monitor the whereabouts and activities of parolees, as well as using the technology for home detention programs and even alcohol consumption monitoring. While it is true that GPS ankle bracelets have been in use for a few years now, new technology, laws, and applications are increasing the use of such devices in what is soon to be a booming industry – fully dependent upon the corrections system. more...

Britain will borrow more money than any other country in Europe this year including crisis-torn Greece.

In a stark warning on the eve of the general election, the European Commission tonight said the UK budget deficit will hit a record 12 per cent of economic output this year. That is the biggest of all 27 nations in the European Union and far worse than the 9.3 per cent shortfall expected in Greece.

After 24 hours of mixed signals from senior Labour figures towards the Lib Dems, Mr Johnson claimed public enthusiasm for Mr Clegg is draining away as people see the "utter, utter madness" of his key policies. More.......

The polls are now showing that Labour will be the largest party in a hung Parliament and will of course be supported by the LibDems. Brown will stay on as PM.

I can't wait to see his gurning face on the 6th May outside No. 10 as he takes the piss out of Cameron, knowing that he has beaten him and that losing will finish Cameron as the Leader of the Conservatives, though he might come to rue that. For the rest of the population there will no doubt come the realisation of what they have done, tough, too late. more...

Considering a string of marginal constituencies that are showing a swing from Labour to Conservatives of the 7% needed to win, however also adjusting for the fact that the Conservatives will also lose some seats the Liberal Democrats due to their poll surge. Therefore my revised forecast for the May 2010 General Election is for the Conservatives to be the largest party on between 305 and 325 seats, Labour second on between 240 and 260 seats and Liberal Democrats third on between 70 and 80 seats. Which suggests on the Conservatives best outcome they will just fail to secure an overall majority by as little as 1 seat, which also implies that the Conservatives could decide to govern as a minority government.

Also of interest is that the combined Labour / Liberal forecast range is 310 to 340 seats, so of the Conservatives manage to get towards the upper end of their forecast range, then the combined Labour / Lib-Dem total could also just fail to secure an overall majority which truly would result in a remarkably hung parliament. more...

How on earth can you convince other countries to bail you out, when this is your reaction to budget cuts?

The Greece riots are exploding into a new level of violence today. We'll grab pictures and video as the day, goes on, but the images look shocking, and according to AFP (via Bloomberg TV) there are 20 people inside of a burning Athens bank.

Reuters is also reporting people likely trapped inside of a building. We're not clear if it's the same one. more...

The next British government must take early measures to reduce the country’s huge deficit and stabilise debt, the European Commission warned today.

The stark message from the EU’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner will be seized on by the Conservatives as Brussels’ endorsement for their economic programme.

Introducing the Commission’s latest economic forecasts, Olli Rehn said: “The first thing for the new government to do is to agree on a convincing, ambitious programme of fiscal consolidation in order to start to reduce the very high deficit and stabilise the high debt level of the UK.” more...

A grim report circulating in the Kremlin today written by Russia’s Northern Fleet is reporting that the United States has ordered a complete media blackout over North Korea’s torpedoing of the giant Deepwater Horizon oil platform owned by the World’s largest offshore drilling contractor Transocean that was built and financed by South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd., that has caused great loss of life, untold billions in economic damage to the South Korean economy, and an environmental catastrophe to the United States.

Most important to understand about this latest attack by North Korea against its South Korean enemy is that under the existing “laws of war” it was a permissible action as they remain in a state of war against each other due to South Korea’s refusal to sign the 1953 Armistice ending the Korean War. more...

Labour faced fresh claims of misleading the public on immigration after figures showed that there were almost four times more EU workers in the UK than Britons working on the Continent.

Eurostat, the EU’s information service, recorded that, as of autumn 2008, there were 287,600 UK nationals working in other EU countries. At the same time, there were 1,020,000 EU citizens working in Britain, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The EU figure was presented to Phil Woolas, the Immigration Minister, by Nigel Farage, of Ukip, during BBC’s Daily Politics debate.

Mr Farage said: “These figures destroy the argument that we have a mutually beneficial open door with the EU.” more...

A dozen voters have been registered to the home of a Labour candidate in an East End of London borough where police are investigating allegations of electoral malpractice.

The number registered to vote at the home of Khales Uddin Ahmed, running to be a councillor in Tower Hamlets, has risen from five to twelve in recent weeks. But a neighbour said that only three people live in the maisonette on a council estate in Bromley-by-Bow.

It is one of several cases where new names have been suddenly added to the voting register as living at addresses occupied by Labour candidates in the borough, which has a history of allegations of voting irregularities. more...

The annual rise in the cost of retail prices leapt to 2pc in April - reversing recent sharp declines - according to the latest British Retail Consortium (BRC)-Nielsen Shop Price Index.

Food inflation rose to 2pc after having dropped to 1.2pc in March, which was its lowest level in the history of the index.The BRC said rising commodity prices, such as oil and cocoa, have put the cost of food under pressure.

Non-food prices also saw a significant rise from 1.3pc in March to 2pc last month - marking the highest level since the survey began in 2006. more...

A British court rejected Tuesday a government attempt to use secret evidence to defend alleged conspiracy in torture, in a ruling welcomed by former Guantanamo Bay inmates.

Three Court of Appeal judges ruled that secret evidence cannot be used in civil proceedings brought by six ex-detainees of the notorious US prison camp, including high-profile former British resident Binyam Mohamed.

“We applaud the Court of Appeal’s excellent decision to keep our courts open, so that the British public may continue to see justice done in their name,” said Clive Stafford Smith, head of legal charity Reprieve. more...

In the Seventies, as today, the roots of the crisis began with economic hubris turning to disaster.

Years of reckless spending and monetary incontinence came to an end on New Year's Day 1974, when Edward Heath's Conservative government imposed an unprecedented three-day week to cope with the aftermath of the OPEC oil shock and industrial action by the militant miners' union. more...

It has recently been reported that the CPI rose sharply to 3.4 per cent in March, up from 3.0 per cent in February.

This rise is a sign of things to come, and we will see significant inflation in the medium term. As such, investors should be growing increasingly worried about the effect of inflation on their portfolios. Wealth creation will be replaced with wealth destruction and investment strategies that have worked for the last thirty years will not work going forward - if investors get their asset allocation wrong their wealth could be decimated. more...

Jack Straw is guilty of the criminal offence of treating - offering food and drink to electors as an induucement to vote - under the Representation of the People's Act 1983, Clause 114 (2). The maximum penalty is one year in prison. As a corrupt electoral practice it brings disbarment from parliament for life - including the House of Lords.

The evidence against Straw is overwhelming. Free food was given to hundreds of Blackburn Muslim voters at a rally in his constituency on Sunday 25 April 2010. Speeches were made specifically calling on the recipients of the free food to vote for Jack Straw in Blackburn. He also made a speech urging them to vote for him, and he approached voters individually to ask for their votes in the hall where the free food was being given out.

Affidavits have been sworn to this effect and handed to the police. You can see them here: more...

DAVID Cameron's efforts to woo Scottish voters are failing, according to a new poll that says the electorate north of the Border intends to stick with the status quo in tomorrow's General Election

As the Conservative leader visited Scotland for only the second time in the campaign last night, an exclusive poll for The Scotsman revealed there was little hope his party could improve upon the solitary seat it gained in the 2005 general election.

The figures show the party trailing in fourth place in Scotland while they show it is less trusted on all key policy areas than its rivals, apart from immigration. more...

HOLIDAYMAKERS face a “summer of uncertainty” due to the Icelandic volcano, aviation authorities warned last night as Scotland was hit by another airport shutdown.

Flights over the Western Isles and Ireland were cancelled on Monday night and into yesterday morning after a new cloud of ash too dense for safe flying was blown from the eruption at Eyjafjallajokull. more...

SIX middle-aged Muslim men, all pillars of their communities, won seats on Britain’s biggest local authority in the most corrupt election campaign since the Victorian era.

Vote-riggers exploited weaknesses in the postal voting system to steal thousands of ballot papers and mark them for Labour, helping the party to take first place in elections to Birmingham City Council. more...

The Arctic ice set 30 records in April, one for each day. According to satellite data received by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the Arctic was more ice bound each day of April than it had been any other corresponding day in April since its sensors began tracking the extent of Arctic Ice in mid 2002.

While Arctic ice has always varied greatly, expanding and contracting during the course of a year and also from year to year and decade to decade, the expansion of the Arctic ice this decade is significant in one respect: It acts to disprove the models that had predicted that the Arctic ice in this century would not recover as it had in previous centuries. more...

Greece may not be enough. Further economic bodies may be needed for the funeral pyre of Keynesian economics. While one after another nation demonstrates the critical flaws inherent to this dogma, governments seem to simply ignore the ramifications. Keynesian economics has only one terminal phase, and that is not prosperity but bankruptcy. more...

TOKYO (AFP) - Greece's debt problems may currently be in the spotlight but Japan is walking its own financial tightrope, analysts say, with a public debt mountain bigger than that of any other industrialised nation.

Public debt is expected to hit 200 percent of GDP in the next year as the government tries to spend its way out of the economic doldrums despite plummeting tax revenues and soaring welfare costs for its ageing population. more...

Greece is only the beginning. The world's leading economies have long lived beyond their means, and the financial crisis caused government debt to swell dramatically. Now the bill is coming due, but not all countries will be able to pay it. more...

The prime-ministerial debates have been a fascinating experiment, not just in the way that television can influence an election campaign but in a new way of combining the web and TV to make both a richer experience. One example - to blow the BBC's own trumpet - is this page which allows you to review all the key moments of last night's debate and see a transcript of what was said.

Another innovation has been the way a growing number of people have followed these major events via two screens - a laptop perched on their knees as they sit in front of the television, connecting with social networks to comment live on what they're seeing.

A "conservation group" that struck a markedly optimistic tone in a front-page New York Times piece on the Gulf Coast oil spill is made up largely of oil industry executives, and its most recent board meeting was hosted by Transocean, the owner of the rig that exploded, ProPublica reports.Pro Publica

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